In Thailand, six people were killed by suspected militants in country's insurgency-plagued southern provinces. Police said in a statement that the killings took place yesterday in southern Pattani province's Yaring district, Nongchik district and in Narathiwat province. <br/><br/>Pattani police commander Major General Thanongsak Wangsupa has said the attacks were in retaliation for a series of militant arrests in the last few days.<br/><br/>The kingdom's far south has witnessed a Malay-Muslim insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives in the past 12 years with both militants and Thailand's military accused of rights abuses.